Psalm 91-God’s Protective Prayer-Part 1

March 7, 2024

Psalm 91-God’s Protective Prayer-Part 1

There is no doubt about it that Psalm 91 is one of the most powerful chapters in the entire Word of God. It is the Lord’s protective prayer that He has given us that covers any kind of storm, trial, or tribulation that you will ever have to face. The writer of this Psalm is unknown but what we do know is the person that wrote it had an understanding of the Lord’s powerful protection that He gives His children.

God had really been highlighting this Psalm to me impressing me to get it deep down in my heart and mind. It is one thing to read it out of your Bible when you come across it from time to time, but it is an entirely different thing to get it so deep in your spirit that it becomes a part of your thought process.

That way when the storms of life hit because they will, you will already have it stored in your Scriptural memory bank for the Holy Spirit to pull from, John 14:26. We are living in a time in life that is becoming darker and darker; the enemy is not even hiding anymore and is on a prowl seeking who he can destroy.

He is not playing any type of games but you know what neither are you! You need to get to a place where you say devil you cannot have me or my family! You need to stock up on your weaponry (God’s Word) because the more Scriptures that you have saturated in your heart and mind, the more arsenals you have at your disposal.

The enemy is after our spouse, our children, and our family. Psalm 91 is a powerful warfare weapon that you can use as a protective shield against the snares and the wiles of the devil. Let it be the prayer that you pray over your family the moment that you wake up every morning. The Lord had me learn it, digest it, and apply it to my daily life and you should do the same!

In this article I am going to break down Psalm 91:1-2 so that we can have more of an understanding of what the Lord is saying to us.

Psalm 91:1

“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

Here we can see that the Lord is establishing the stipulation for the amazing protective covering that He is offering His children. He is telling us that those that choose to remain in the secret place of God will abide in His shadow. What exactly does that mean? Unfortunately a lot of Christians do not have a genuine relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. They treat Him like a spare tire that you have tucked away only calling on Him when they absolutely need to.

That is not what dwelling in the secret place means. God wants you to spend time with Him more than just on Sunday afternoon while listening to a sermon that your Pastor is preaching. He wants to have an intimate and personal relationship with every single one of us where we spend time with Him when there is nobody else around.

Now let’s take a closer look at what Psalm 91:1 is telling us. The words “he that dwells” being used is the Hebrew word “yāšaḇ” which means: to dwell, remain, sit, and abide. The words “in the secret place” being used is the Hebrew word “sēṯer” which means: covering or cover, hiding place, secrecy.

The words “shall abide” being used is the Hebrew “lûn” which means: to lodge, stop over, pass the night, abide. The words “under the shadow” being used is the Hebrew word “ṣēl” which means: shadow, shade (as protection from sun) and branches.

So what we can determine that the Lord is telling us in these key phrases is the fact that those that remain and abide in His covering or hiding place (prayer closet) are that ones that will be safely protected when the storms hit. The Lord also makes it clear that in order for someone to receive this type of shelter you have to stay in His shadow.

In other words it requires closeness and intimacy with Him so much so that you could literally be a part of His shadow. How would someone abide in the secret place? The Lord describes it perfectly as one of the meanings of “shall abide” and that is to lodge. When someone lodges or stays the night somewhere this requires a great amount of time being spent.

Abiding in God means that you have a relationship with Him, you are obedient to His Word, making Him your first line of defense and not your last option, you are spending dedicated moments with Him in prayer, worship, and most of all reading His Word. These are some of the ways that you can ensure that you are abiding in His shadow and under His protective covering.

The fact is that God does not want us to just visit Him from time to time during Bible study or at church on Sundays. He wants us to dwell with Him getting to know Him on a personal level which requires effort on our part. The best way that you can develop a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is to get into the Word of God study it, digest it, and apply it to your daily life.

Your Bible is God’s voice speaking to you every time that you open it up and read the Scriptures on every page. God’s Word discloses His character, His will for your life, and His Biblical law which provides us with the guidelines on how a believer should live their lives.

This first part of this Psalm is showing us the stipulations needed to be fulfilled if a person wants to take advantage of the amazing promises given to us by the Lord. Now I going to go over the part of the Psalm where we make it personal.

Psalm 91:2

“I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

Here you can see a shift in this powerful Psalm God now wants you to make it personal to you. It begins with the word “I” which denotes ownership. You are making the choice to obey the stipulations necessary to receive God’s promises.

Another key word that I want to highlight is the word “say” meaning that you don’t want to declare this promise silently; you want to proclaim it boldly and confidently. Let the devil know that you are taking full advantage of the amazing promises found in this powerful protective Psalm.

Let’s take a closer look at what Psalm 91:2 is telling us. The words “my refuge” being used is the Hebrew word “maḥăsê” which means: refuge, shelter from danger. The words “and my fortress” being used is the Hebrew word “māṣûḏ” which means: fastness (fort), stronghold. The words “I will trust” being used is the Hebrew word “bāṭaḥ” which means: to trust, have confidence, to be bold, to be secure.

Dissecting these phrases out of this passage of Scripture we can conclude that the Lord is telling us that He is our shelter from danger. He is the fortress to those that truly trust Him. What does it mean to trust God? It is having complete confidence that He is Who He says He is and He means what He says. It’s taking His Word at face value without any doubt or uncertainty.

This part of this Psalm is a declaration of you saying to God that He is your safe place, your shelter from the storms of life, your protection in times of danger, your covering from anything and anyone that will try to cause you harm. This kind of trust stems from a place of familiarity and a place of experience.

When you allow Jesus Christ to be your personal Lord and Savior you will see firsthand that He follows through on His promises. One of the main things to take into consideration is that the Lord requires our obedience. Making Jesus the Lord of your life means that you follow His stipulations and guidelines found in His Word. You allow it to transform the way that you live, act, speak, and think, Romans 12:2.

Being submitted to God allows you to remain in His safety and protection. The perfect Scripture that reiterates this point is found in Ecclesiastes 10:8. It states, “He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent.” King Solomon is making the point that if you allow your defensive barrier to be broken a serpent (the enemy) will bite you.

The way that your protective hedge, fortress, or shelter can be compromised is when you become compromised. When you are not living upright according to the Word of God, you are opening the door to the enemy to break your hedge of protection and he WILL bite.

Conclusion

Psalm 91 is God’s protective promise and assurance to those that are dwelling in the secret place. Christians that are seeking a genuine and real relationship with the Lord when there is absolutely nobody else around are the ones that are really after His heart.

In the times that we are living in, it is imperative that we get as close to the Lord as possible. We are going to need to be led by the Holy Spirit in everything that we do. He is the One that will keep us in line when we are veering off track. He will lead and guide you into all truth found in the Word of God, John 16:13.

Also, don’t forget to check out my other blogs:

New Testament Scriptures on Healing

Old Testament Scriptures on Healing

Tips for walking in good health: keep God’s Word in your heart

Tips for walking in good health: choose life!

Tips for walking in good health: walk by faith and not by sight

Tips for walking in good health: Incline your ears to God’s Word

God’s Healing Remedy-His Word

Hindrances to your Healing-Unbelief

Hindrances to your Healing-Willful Sin

God’s Preventive Remedy for Sickness and Disease

God’s Healing Power